Films That Make You Question Reality

When The Matrix begins, we think we're in the present time and that everything and everyone is normal. However as the plot thickens, we learn that not everything or everyone is as it seems and that there's even a question about what year it is as well. "What is the Matrix?"

This dark film questions everything...from our existence to what is real versus what is imagined. Rufus Sewell takes us to Dark City and we discover that by the ending of this film, we know less about what we've just seen. We even learn the memories that his character has in the film may or not be real.

Based on the video game of the same name, when Silent Hill begins, we're in the real world as we know it. However, once we enter the town of Silent Hill, we learn that there's a world which exists in ash and fog. In this world, the fog hides a terrible secret of something that occurred in the real world in the past. We also learn that within the world of ash and fog, there's another world beneath which consists of blood and flesh.

Jacob's Ladder is the type of film that makes the viewer question everything they've seen and heard. We think we see Tim Robbins trying to deal with the world around him as he tries to navigate day-to-day. However, by the ending, we're left trying to figure out what we just saw. By the way, what was the deal with Macaulay Culkin in this film, anyway?

Do you want a good mind trip? Do you want to feel as if you've just seen and lived a nightmare? Malum is the film to see. After seeing this mind trip, it made me ask what did I just see. The reason this film makes the list is when this film begins, we're lead to believe its during a night shift, which may or may not begin sometime after midnight. Over the course of the film, time seems to stand still and the events don't really seem to have an ending or beginning. I want to believe the events take place over a span of several hours but its hard to tell.

The Void did something that knocked me for a loop when I first saw it. I didn't realize that the world in which we know was already being affected by the events we see in this film. By the time the action begins, time and the world the characters are living in is may or may not be reality. Not only that but there are two key scenes that suggest the world is changing. Things that shouldn't be are now taking shape in terms of physical distance as well as time. This film eventually had me questioning what I'm seeing and what is occurring as two worlds are about to become one.

This film plays a Jedi Mind Trip and trick on you, the viewer. When the film begins, everything appears to be normal and the world the characters lives in is real. However, once the characters enter the mental hospital and the doors are shut, reality and time bends and everything is not what it seems.

If Grave Encounters was a Jedi Mind trick, then the sequel is the mind trick of the Jedi. When I saw this film, I thought I had everything figured out and it turns out I didn't. There are so many time loops in this film, it makes the viewer question what you're seeing. Just when you think you've gotten it figured out, you don't! Note to the film makers, I'd like to see a prequel to explain how and why everything in this film and the first film came to be.

After seeing this film, I still don't know what I saw. Was it all in the mind of the main character, Julianne Moore or was she suffering from a mental break down? Are the events she's experiencing just all in her head or is there really a conspiracy afoot? Are the people she deals with real or are they in her head? Are her memories real or are they in her head, too?

When this film begins, everything seems normal. Once a meteorite appears, that's when things begin to change to include time and reality. What makes this film very effective is the fact the question about time and reality are very subtle. The characters aren't even aware of it until certain events occur, which will leave the characters with uncertainty as they question reality. In addition, by the time we get to the second act, you being to wonder if the events are in the minds of the characters or are they real?

Like many of the films on this list, Identity starts off making you, the viewer, believe everything is normal. We see a cast of characters trying to seek refuge from a storm during a dark and stormy night. However, as this story unfolds we discover that not everything is what it appears to be. Identity has a unique story and plot that none of the other films on this list has. Time and reality as well as identity come into question as the story progresses with an ending you won't see coming!

Transcendence was one of the first films I've ever seen on the subject of A.I. In the beginning, we see the world as it appears, which is normal. However, Johnny Depp's character, Dr. Will Caster, will transcend time and reality as we know it, which in turn will come into the real world. This film begs to ask the questions, can one person really change the world as we know it? Can they create or recreate reality and is that good thing?